Overdevelopment rears its ugly head again (commentary)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - We sometimes think that overdevelopment is a problem of the past on Staten Island.

But driven by the boom on the North Shore, overdevelopment is something that the borough is going to have to confront again. And it's more important than ever.

With the New York Wheel, Empire Outlets and Lighthouse Pointe projects on the way, and with the Urby development already up and running, the North Shore is becoming increasingly attractive to homebuyers and real estate investors.

The thinking is that the boom will spread from the St. George waterfront and into inland communities like Stapleton, Tompkinsville and beyond. That means old housing stock in those neighborhoods will increase in value as more and more people are drawn to suddenly "hip" Staten Island from other boroughs.

Some of those folks will no doubt want an older home in an established neighborhood. That's part of the charm of the North Shore, the homes that date from the 1800s, built in solid ways that no homes will ever be built again. Many of those homes will be bought and spruced up to their former glory as neighborhoods that may have been down on their heels a little bit are reclaimed.

But some homeowners who've held on to older homes could also be looking to cash in by selling the home to a developer. As is their right. The home could be torn down and replaced with two, three or four other units.

It's something that Staten Island has seen far too much of in its history. And the additional building wouldn't be as much of a problem if the borough had the infrastructure to support it.

But we all know that's not how it is. Our road system was designed for the traffic numbers we saw here half a century ago, for example. Some roads remain almost exactly as they were laid out in Colonial times.

And let's talk about storm sewers. Staten Island floods out nearly every time there's a heavy rain. People get water in their basements. Roads can become impassable. All you have to do is look at what Hurricane Harvey did to overdeveloped Houston to know why you can't just pave over every woodland and open space.

There was a time the borough did attack overdevelopment. It was when Michael Bloomberg got elected mayor in 2001. And he owed Staten Island for the votes that put him there. So we were able to pick our issue and get City Hall backing. We chose overdevelopment. A Growth Management Task Force was formed. Zoning rules were changed. Overdevelopment was pushed back. There was a detente.

But nothing is permanent. And the task force didn't solve every problem. It didn't solve every problem wrought by teardowns. It didn't stop the Board of Standards and Appeals from granting variances that allow builders to develop outside of the rules. In one glaring example, it didn't save the Mount Manresa property.

We could be facing a new wave now. We could see older homes on the North Shore torn down and replaced with multiple dwellings. It would bring more people. More cars. It could further tax our infrastructure.

Some of this is beyond our control. Some places are zoned the way they are, and private homeowners have the right to sell their property and get as much as they can for it. Changing the zoning in a particular area is a long process. It can't be done overnight. If there are areas where people think there is a risk of overdevelopment, now is the time to put things in motion.

And we need to remember: Where we have a potential for development, we must also get the infrastructure to support it. Wide streets. Parking spaces. Storm sewers.